Belgian sprinter Tim Merlier powered away from his rivals to win stage nine and claim his second stage win of this Tour de France.
Merlier held off the challenge of Jonathan Milan and Arnaud de Lie, after the peloton had earlier chased down the gutsy breakaway of Mathieu van der Poel and his teammate Jonas Rickaert.
Follow all the reaction from stage 9 of the Tour de France below.
Tour de France 2025 stage 9 LIVE
- Stage 9: 174km Chinon to Chateauroux | Live on TNT Sports and ITV4
- Tim Merlier holds off sprint rivals to win stage 9 in 'Cavendish City'
- Mathieu van der Poel's brave solo attack ends under flamme rouge
- Stage 9 route map and profile
- Stage 8 recap
- How to watch the Tour de France
Van der Poel: 'We put up a good show'
17:12 , Lawrence OstlereWhen Van der Poel and Rickaert went early, it looked like a play purely for the intermediate sprint points, but they rolled through that line early in the day and just kept going, building a lead of more than five minutes.
Even as teams furiously fought for position in the wind behind, the lead still held at 50 seconds with 10 kilometres to go as splits appeared in the peloton.
Rickaert fell back with six kilometres left and it became a straight fight between the powerful but shattered Van der Poel and some disorganised lead-out trains behind.
It would go the peloton's way, but Van der Poel got at least one wish with Rickaert being named the most combative rider of the day.
"We wanted to go for it today because it's his dream to be on the podium of a Tour de France," Van der Poel said. "It's hard not to be able to finish it off but we put up a good show today."
Summary: Merlier wins again
16:33 , Lawrence OstlereTim Merlier of Soudal Quick-Step won stage nine of the Tour de France on Sunday in a sprint finish to deny Jonathan Milan back-to-back stage victories after Mathieu van der Poel's early attack saw him lead the stage until the last kilometre.
As van der Poel's heroic effort ended in heartbreak at the end of the 174.1-kilometre ride from Chinon to Chateauroux, it marked a second stage win on the Tour this year for Merlier, who had also edged Milan in a photo finish on the third stage.
Stage 9 – top five
16:25 , Lawrence Ostlere1. Tim Merlier
2. Jonathan Milan
3. Arnaud De Lie
4. Pavel Bittner
5. Paul Penhoët
Almeida withdraws from race
16:10 , Lawrence OstlereA reminder of a bit of news during the day: Joao Almeida, a key teammate of Tour de France leader Tadej Pogacar, has abandoned the race.
Almeida, who fractured a rib during Stage 7, was dropped early during Sunday's ninth stage between Chinon and Chateauroux, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG later announced over the race radio that the Portuguese rider had retired.
Almeida was caught in a high-speed crash earlier this week as riders scrambled for position at the front, 6km (4 miles) from the finish line. Almeida escaped without a concussion but his rib fracture finally proved to be too painful to carry on in the three-week race.
Almeida finished fourth at the 2024 Tour de France and started this year's edition on the back of excellent preparations, having won the Tour de Suisse, Tour de Romandie and Itzulia Basque Country.
Tim Merlier wins stage 9
16:07 , Lawrence OstlereMerlier speaks: “It was really hard in the heat. Really nervous [in the peloton]. The pacing was quite high. We tried to protect each other as much as possible – thanks to Remco [Evenepoel, teammate] for his help. At one point I thought I was boxed in with 200m to go, but I’m pleased I won my second stage of the Tour.”
Tim Merlier wins stage 9
16:04 , Lawrence OstlereSome pictures of the winning moment:
Tim Merlier wins stage 9!
15:56 , Lawrence OstlereTim Merlier surges away in the bunch sprint, leaving Jonathan Milan and Arnaud de Lie in his wake, to clinch the victory!
Stage 9 finale...
15:54 , Lawrence OstlereHere they come for the sprint, Milan is there, can he get it again?
Van der Poel is caught
15:54 , Lawrence Ostlere1km to go: Under the flamme rouge goes Van der Poel, and the bunch follows only about seven seconds behind him, as they jostle for position... And he’s caught moments later!
Van der Poel goes solo!
15:52 , Lawrence Ostlere2km to go: It looks the game is up, with Van der Poel’s lead now down to only 10 seconds...
Van der Poel goes solo!
15:51 , Lawrence Ostlere4km to go: Van der Poel is giving everything he’s got, every last bit of energy to resist the peloton. The gap is down to 20 seconds...
Van der Poel goes solo!
15:48 , Lawrence Ostlere6km to go: Van der Poel and Rickaert push on – can they take advantage of some cat-and-mouse games in the peloton to stay clear? The gap remains about 30 seconds – and now Van der Poel goes alone!
This is an epic bid from the great man. Can he stay away?
Breakaway losing it's gap
15:46 , Lawrence Ostlere10km to go: We are approaching Chateauroux – “Cavendish City” – and the peloton is charging towards the breakaway once more, the gap now cut to 30 seconds. Lidl-Trek are doing plenty of work on the front for Jonathan Milan.
How we stand...
15:39 , Lawrence Ostlere15km to go: So we are into the business end of this stage 9 and here is how things are setup.
Two riders, Jonas Rickaert and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), escaped up the road a long time ago and are still clear of the fast-chasing peloton – the gap right now is around a minute, so they have a real chance of clinging on.
The peloton behind them has shredded in crosswinds but the big GC riders are together and so are the main sprinters looking to win this stage on the line.
But can they force a bunch sprint, or will the breakaway stay clear?
Tour de France – stage 9 prediction
15:33 , Flo CliffordHere is how we predicted today’s stage outcome:
Jasper Philipsen no doubt would have enjoyed this stage, particularly with his utterly world-class Alpecin-Deceuninck leadout.
In the absence of the Belgian, though, this stage feels like a toss-up between the world’s two best sprinters: Philipsen’s compatriot Tim Merlier has one win to his name already on stage three and got the better of his Italian rival Jonathan Milan then, but Milan was unstoppable on the uphill finish into Laval yesterday, leaving the pair with a win apiece. Let’s back Jonathan Milan to carry his momentum from stage eight into today’s sprint.
Any number of the second-string sprinters could have a dig today too, but all things going to plan - and of course they often don’t in a sprint - it’s hard to look past this duo for the win.
Van der Poel's game is almost up
15:26 , Lawrence Ostlere25km to go: Van der Poel has effectively given up – the main peloton has closed the gap to only 30 seconds.
Peloton storming towards the breakaway
15:18 , Lawrence Ostlere30km to go: The break’s lead is now sliced down to only a minute and a half – can Van der Poel and Rickaert cling on with only 30km to go?
Tour de France – stage 9 live
15:05 , Lawrence OstlereThe speed in the bunch is high today:
Inside the final 50km and the pace is so high in the peloton that the 🇳🇱 @mathieuvdpoel and 🇧🇪 Jonas Rickaert's lead has decreased to 2'21''.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 13, 2025
A moins de 50 derniers kilomètres, le rythme est tellement élevé dans le peloton que l'avance de 🇳🇱 @mathieuvdpoel et 🇧🇪 Jonas Rickaert… pic.twitter.com/hJ8z5N8huZ
Are they starting to believe?
14:52 , Luke Baker54km to go: How long before Van der Poel and Rickaert genuinely start to think they might stay away?
The Alpecin-Deceuninck riders still have a lead of more than three minutes as we move towards the 50km to go mark. Still a huge, huge ask but, to quote Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber, so you’re saying there’s a chance?!
Peloton split as leaders' gap falls
14:37 , Luke Baker67km to go: Ooh, the pace is upped at the front of the peloton and that causes a split. Some big names are caught out, including Wout van Aert who has to put in a big effort to bridge the gap.
That also slices into the leaders’ advantage, which dips to around 3mins 40secs, although when things calm down they move up to the 4min mark again. And actually, thr secondary peloton are closing the gap to the main bunch.
Joao Almeida withdraws
14:34 , Luke Baker70km to go: This is blow. Joao Almeida,w ho we reported was struggling but had caught back up to the pack, withdraws from the Tour de France.
He dropped off the back off the peloton again and got in to the team car. He was going to be one of Tadej Pogacar’s top lieutenants at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, so that’s a real blow in the yellow jersey fight.
He suffered a broken rib and a number of abrasions after crashing on stage seven and the pain clearly got too much
Hot hot hot
14:17 , Luke Baker86km to go: It’s about 31C on the Tour de France route today - very hot and little shade on the French roads. Riders are pouring water all over themselves to try and cool down.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck riders are keeping the lead just around the 5min mark as they dip towards 85km to go.
Lidl-Trek and Uno-X Mobility are mostly taking up the workload at the front of the peloton, while Portugal’s João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates XRG) is back with the bunch having dropped off the back
The lead coming slowly down
14:04 , Luke Baker96km to go: The two leaders have shipped about 30 seconds of time since the biggest gap of the day. The lead just dips under 5mins with just under 100km to go.
Meanwhile, Zimmermann wearing a full sleeve on his arm to deal with his injuries and his leg is also covered with iodine as his shorts ripped and he had some serious rash there as well. He’s trying to draft behind the team cars to get back towards the peloton.
Zimmerman suffers nasty crash
13:50 , Luke Baker109km to go: That one looks really nasty. German national champion Georg Zimmerman has had a big old crash.
He’s crumpled in a heap, with his bike on top of him, in the grass along the side of the road. Eventually medical attention comes and helps him up.
He gets back on the bike and is riding alongside the doctor’s car but he’s bleeding heavily from his arm and is going to need some big running repairs. Obviously he’s dropping further and further back as this is happening.
Idyllic day in France
13:42 , Luke BakerGood stuff from Van der Poel and Rickaert so far today in glorious weather in France.
They couldn't do it... Could they?
13:33 , Luke Baker122km to go: Initially, this seems like a speculative break, maybe for Van der Poel to hoover up intermediate sprint points in the battle for the green jersey. But on commentary on TNT Sports, Adam Blythe has suggested Van der Poel and Rickaert could stay away and win the stage...
That’s a bold call, and a long way to go but with a tailwind, the peloton will have to go some to catch them. Their lead is at 5mins 31secs with a little over 120 clicks to go, for what it’s worth
Van der Poel and Rickaert up the road
13:24 , Luke Baker138km to go: A flat stage today but that won’t stop a breakaway.
Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Rickaert are now 4mins 30secs ahead of the peloton after bombing up the road.
In the intermediate sprint we’ve just had, Biniam Girmay of Intermarché-Wanty took 13 points, so he remains in third place in the battle for the green jersey, with Van der Poel fourth.
'Cavendish City'
12:20 , Flo CliffordA quick word on today’s finish town...
Stage nine returns to a place etched in Tour history: Chateauroux, which hosts a finish for the fifth time in its history, at the end of a 174km run from Chinon. Three of those finishes were won by the legendary Mark Cavendish, who sprinted to the first of an eventual record of 35 stage wins here on the avenue de La Chatre - often dubbed ‘Cavendish Avenue’ - in 2008, before repeating the feat in 2011 and 2021.
Those achievements have been recognised with temporary signage reading ‘Cavendish City’ being added to every marker on the city’s limits, with a permanent tribute planned later down the line.
What of the other sprinters?
12:09 , Flo CliffordYesterday’s top-10 was notable for not featuring either Biniam Girmay, who won the green jersey and three stages last year, or stage three winner Tim Merlier.
Girmay finished 19th in the end, unable to make an impact in that final sprint, with Merlier suffering a late mechanical and forced to chase back onto the bunch on the approach to Laval. He ultimately dropped off and finished 56th, 23 seconds down.
The European champion did well to drag himself back into contention after the mechanical, but clearly didn’t have the legs after that effort.
Lidl-Trek celebrate their first win of this year's Tour
12:03 , Flo CliffordGroup huggg 🤗🤗🤗#TDF2025 l @LidlTrek pic.twitter.com/0WPo7glpU2
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 12, 2025
Stage nine prediction
11:56 , Flo CliffordJasper Philipsen no doubt would have enjoyed this stage, particularly with his utterly world-class Alpecin-Deceuninck leadout.
In the absence of the Belgian, though, this stage feels like a toss-up between the world’s two best sprinters: Philipsen’s compatriot Tim Merlier has one win to his name already on stage three and got the better of his Italian rival Jonathan Milan then, but Milan was unstoppable on the uphill finish into Laval yesterday, leaving the pair with a win apiece. Let’s back Jonathan Milan to carry his momentum from stage eight into today’s sprint.
Any number of the second-string sprinters could have a dig today too, but all things going to plan - and of course they often don’t in a sprint - it’s hard to look past this duo for the win.
General classification after stage eight
11:49 , Flo Clifford1) Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in 29:48:30
2) Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) +54”
3) Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) +1’11”
4) Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1’17”
5) Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +1’29”
6) Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1’34”
7) Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) +2’49”
8) Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +3’02”
9) Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +3’06”
10) Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) +3’43”
Here's what Jonathan Milan had to say
11:42 , Flo Clifford“I think I still don’t understand what we did,” the stage eight winner said afterwards. “To come with some expectations and dreams to bring home, then to bring them home is two different things. But I was confident with the team, we were really close in the last stage [on stage three], we know that we just went a bit too early. But today we were really focused, really believing in it, my guys did an amazing job until the final.
“It was a really tough final, I have to say a bit stressful, I was not expecting to struggle up so much in the last kilometre and a half. I knew that I had to wait as long as I could. But I like these kind of finals. Really happy for the work that we did, we deserve it.”
He is asked whether the sheer difficulty of winning a Tour stage means that he can’t believe his achievement. “I think so. The level is so high, everyone is looking and will deserve one, so I’m really happy for all of us for this result. Now let’s try to rest as much as possible tonight and try again tomorrow. “
Milan into green jersey
11:35 , Flo CliffordMilan now leads the green jersey standings by right, having overhauled Tadej Pogacar with this win.
1) Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) 192 pts
2) Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) 156 pts
3) Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty) 124 pts
4) Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Deceuninck) 108 pts
5) Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) 93 pts
Jonathan Milan beats Wout van Aert to claim maiden Tour de France stage win
11:28 , Flo CliffordJonathan Milan claimed his first career Tour de France stage win as he beat Wout van Aert and Kaden Groves in an uphill sprint in Laval.
Milan, 24, had lost his lead-out men on the technical finish to the 171.4km stage from Saint-Meen-le-Grand but surfed the wheels before holding off the late charge of Van Aert.
The Italian won in the green jersey he was wearing on behalf of overall leader Tadej Pogacar, but the victory means he will wear it on Sunday by rights as he moved to the top of the points classification.
"I don't still understand what we did," said Milan, remarkably the first Italian stage winner since Vincenzo Nibali in 2019. "To come with some expectations, some dreams, but then to bring them home is two different things, but I was confident with the team.”
Jonathan Milan beats Wout van Aert to snatch first Tour de France stage win
Stage eight results
11:21 , Flo Clifford1) Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), in 3:50:26
2) Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike)
3) Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
4) Pascal Ackermann (Israel Premier Tech)
5) Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Caps)
6) Tobias Lund Andresen (Picnic PostNL)
7) Bryan Coquard (Cofidis)
8) Alberto Dainese (Tudor Pro Cycling)
9) Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost)
10) Stian Fredheim (Uno X-Mobility), all at same time
How to watch the Tour de France
11:15 , Flo CliffordThe 2025 Tour de France will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, in what is the last year of free-to-air coverage of the race before it is exclusively shown on TNT Sports and Discovery+.
Viewers can also stream the race online via ITVX app and website, and subscribers can watch the action on the TNT Sports and Discovery+ apps.
Each stage will packaged into hourly highlights shows on ITV4, typically starting at around 7pm BST. The highlights can be streamed on ITVX with the website and app.
Stage nine start time
11:09 , Flo CliffordStage nine gets underway in Chinon at 1.10pm local time, 12.10pm BST, with the finish scheduled for around 5.10pm local time (4.10pm BST).
Stage nine route map and profile
11:06 , Flo Clifford
Stage nine preview
11:03 , Flo CliffordThe Tour has opted for rare back-to-back sprint days, but unlike yesterday’s this one is clear-cut, with a flat finish perfectly tailored to the pure sprinters at the end of 174km in the Loire.
This double-header of sprint days falls, intriguingly, on a weekend, an unusual choice for the current era of Tour direction, favouring hyper-difficult mountain stages and GC fireworks as it does.
Today will be a rather sleepy day for the TV cameras until the peloton swoops closer to Chateauroux: expect plenty of beautiful chateaux and charming French countryside, interspersed with bits of bike racing.
The route heads east all day from Chinon, traversing a couple of mild bumps before a very flat approach to a town which has hosted a Tour finish four times.
Good morning
11:00 , Flo CliffordHello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of stage nine of the Tour de France!
It’s another sprint battle royale today, and it’s in sprinter’s paradise: the famous ‘Cavendish City’, site of three wins by the Manx Missile. Who will inherit his crown in Chateauroux today? Let’s find out...
